A British doctor accused of killing people during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda has been charged.
What led to the 1994 Tutsi Genocide in Rwanda
A British doctor accused of killing people during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda has become the first UK citizen charged with a genocide-related offence. Al Jazeera’s Marah Rayan went to the Kigali Genocide Memorial to discover firsthand what led to one of the darkest chapters in the country’s history.
Read the full story at Al Jazeera.
Many kids enjoy pretend play with imaginary pals or stuffed toys, fostering their communication skills. Engaging in this type of play is typical and does not necessarily indicate loneliness. However, if children display notable changes in behavior regarding their imaginary friends, parents should take note. Asking about these imaginary companions can initiate valuable conversations and strengthen the parent-child bond, prioritizing the child's happiness above all.
If this is not extortion, then what is it, says SC on allowing retailers to overprice drugs NEW DELHI: Expressing shock over patients and their families being fleeced by pharma companies and retail medicine sellers, Supreme Court on Tuesday said the exorbitant prices charged was nothing but “dacoity” in broad daylight and questioned the govt’s silence on the pressing issue faced by citizens.A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said price fixation of medicines was very important as people were being forced to sell their assets and ornaments to purchase medicines and suggested that all medicines should be brought under the purview of the price control mechanism and be made available under govt-sponsored Jan Aushadhi Kendras. Referring to a cancer drug without naming it, the bench said the pharma company supplied it to retailers at Rs 2,770 but it was sold to patients at an MRP of Rs 27,000.“There are medicines, essential medicines for cancer, which the MRP is 27,000 and the PTR (price to retailer) is Rs 2,700. That’s absolute rampage, carnage, broad daylight dacoity. How can a patient be cheated for a medicine, which the manufacturer sells to the retailer at Rs 2,700 and the MRP is printed at Rs 27,000? It is ten times. It is very surprising that the authorities who are supposed to take a decision on this are absolutely silent. We don’t need to spell out the reason for that,” the bench said.Additional solicitor general K M Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that the govt was not taking an adversarial approach in the matter and it would remain the govt’s endeavour to make medicines available to all. But the bench interrupted him and pointed out that the issue was not about availability but about making them available at a reasonable price.“If that is not extortion, then what is it? People sell their houses, sell their ornaments for getting medicines... Price fixation is very important and all medicines should be brought under price fixation policy. If all medicines are important, then why keep some medicines out of it?” the bench asked. The court was hearing PILs filed by SC advocate K C Jain and Agra-based doctor Sanjay Kulshresthra seeking the court’s intervention on price fixation of medicines. Bench expressed surprise at the huge disparity in pricing The petitioners placed before the court bills to demonstrate how drugs were being overpriced by pharma companies or by printing a much higher MRP than their actual retail price in the open market, which allowed retailers to sell the medicines at 10-16 times their actual cost. Join conversation View All Comments → Share your thoughts in the comments Insightful Agree Disagree Skeptical Concerning Promising Worth Reading Big Development Post Comment Be respectful · TOI community guidelines Giving an example, Kulshresthra told the court that the MRP of an antibiotic named Tigebex 50 mg was Rs 5,635 and was sold at that price in corporate hospitals but the same was being sold in the open market at just Rs 350.“In other words, the hospital is charging 16 times its actual retail cost in the market,” he said.The bench expressed surprise at the huge disparity in pricing and said, “Why this disparity at all? A medicine which is, as a matter of fact, sold by the manufacturer to the retailer at 10% of its MRP, why has it got this high MRP? Why should there be such disparity? It is a clear cut case of fraud on the face of it.”Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for pharma companies, said they were not the ones making money out of it and sought time to place data before the court, which was allowed.
Indian Navy plans to procure six LCU Mk V vessels to boost amphibious, logistics and HADR capabilities. NEW DELHI: To strengthen its amphibious operations, logistics and HADR capabilities, the Indian Navy is planning to procure six landing craft utility (LCU) MK V from Indian shipyards as it has issued a request for information (RFI) for six such platforms.A Landing Craft Utility (LCU) is a rugged, steel-hulled watercraft used by amphibious forces to transport heavy equipment, vehicles, and troops from ship to shore, along a coast, or back to warships. They are also used for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, medical evacuation and specialized maritime operations.The Indian Navy currently has 8 active Landing Craft Utility (LCU) ships, all belonging to the indigenous Mk IV class. These amphibious ships displace about 830 tonnes and are primarily stationed under the Andaman and Nicobar Command for beaching, transport, and humanitarian missions. They can transport Main Battle Tanks (like Arjun or T-72), armoured vehicles, and up to 160 troops.According to the RFI, “The procurement of the vessel will be as per Defence Procurement Procedure 2.0, and accordingly shipyards are required to submit the details regarding indigenous content. The categorisation for the procurement is intended to be under Buy (Indian - IDDM).”Such a vessel with a displacement of 1,500 tonnes should be capable of carrying at least four main battle tanks (MBTs), 4 BMP infantry combat vehicles, and 190 troops and should have maximum speed of 15 knots or more with an endurance of around 4,500 nautical miles.“Shipyards may consider this RFI as advance information to obtain requisite govt clearances and setting up of necessary infrastructure both in terms of manpower and material requirements,” it said .